Box Score
Westminster, MD — Opening the 2008 campaign against McDaniel College Wednesday afternoon, first-year Messiah head coach Heather Greer watched her team put up one solid half of play.
If only the Falcons could have duplicated their first-half performance.
Messiah (0-1) watched a 4-4 score at halftime dissipate into a 10-4 difference just 13 and a half minutes into the second period, eventually dropping a 13-7 decision to the host Green Terror. A total 21 turnovers did not help the Falcons' cause, as McDaniel (2-0) nearly doubled Messiah in second-half shots — 22 to 13 — behind 10 second-half giveaways by Greer's squad.
"The stats really tell the whole story to this game," Greer said afterward. "We were matched teams all through the first half, but they just ran away with it. Our defense played hard and well, especially in the first half, but we just couldn't get the spark going to capitalize on our scoring opportunities in the second half."
McDaniel — ranked 19th in the latest IWLCA Top 25 Poll — scored the game's first two goals in the span of 11 minutes, only for Messiah to start spoon-feeding the Green Terror a steady does of senior Jessica Van Hook. The lanky attack scored the first and last of a quick, 3-0 scoring burst for the Falcons, going unassisted at the half's 16:36 mark and taking dish from junior Jackie Dando at the 10:02 point.
Freshman Kara Geiman charted her first collegiate score at the 15:49 mark, slamming a shot into the back of the cage off an assist from freshman Megan Bovenzi.
McDaniel then responded with a pair of goals that surrounded the intermission, but when senior Bethany Moskevitz scored a one-on-one opportunity with just over 25 minutes to play, the game was tied 4-4.
It was then that McDaniel took over, scoring six straight goals to capture its largest lead of the game. Junior goalie Jen Venter came up with an incredible 12 first-half saves against 19 Green Terror shots; she was able to stop seven of McDaniel's 22 second-half attempts.
"McDaniel really started moving the ball on attack much better than we did in the second half, and we continued to turn the ball over," Greer said. "Defensively, (senior) Kirstyn Wheeler had a great game for us, while Jess Van Hook tried to get things going off of the draws. We just have to take care of the ball a little bit better."
Wheeler finished with a team-leading six ground balls for Messiah, also causing two turnovers. Bovenzi equaled the latter stat, coming up with two assists as well. Dando scored twice, coming consecutively at the 17:07 and 15:31 marks of the second half. Van Hook then added her third score of the game with 5:00 even to play.
"Jen Venter was on fire in the first half, and I think we proved to ourselves the level that we're capable of playing at," Greer said. "It's very early for us as a team, and I'm very excited about where we are going this year. It was a good start, and I think – with some tweaks – we will be fully prepared for York on Saturday."
Messiah will host its nearby rivals Saturday at Anderson Field. Game time is set for 1 p.m.
